Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

These are literally the best chocolate chip cookies you will ever make.

Would I ever lie you to? Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Not to, uh, toot my own horn or anything but this recipe took home Best in Show in the Baked Goods competition at the Siskiyou County Fair. This annual fair was just about the most exciting thing that happened to the little town I lived in nestled in the mountains of Northern California. I uh, ruthlessly beat out 25 other sweet old grannies who probably brought cookie recipes that were handed down from generation to generation with my own snarky secretly healthier vegan chocolate chip cookies. Alright, fine, not my shining moment, but I was pretty happy with that pretty big pink ribbon.

All the butter that normally saturates a chocolate chip cookie is replaced with yummy antioxidant rich coconut oil. The flour is a mix of 100% whole wheat and oats to create a nice dense and chewy texture. Toasted almonds are thrown in for added protein, fiber, and of course, flavor. These can absolutely be made gluten free by using all purpose gluten free flour and certified gluten free oatmeal. I have made them this way, and they are still really good, but let’s get real….not AS good 🙂

HOWEVER, unless you want your cookie to taste like a gritty hockey puck of mule turd and chocolatey sand, make sure the oatmeal is instant and you’re not just throwing in old fashioned rolled oats. I have made this mistake a couple of times….no bueno, and although they do not actually take on the flavor of mule turd, the consistency is thrown way off. I buy the little packets of regular unflavored instant oatmeal.

Also, the brand of chocolate chips you buy will probably make or break the cookie. I have used Nestle with sub par results….Ghirardelli is the best!

The egg that would normally bind these babies is actually replaced with chia seeds. Have you ever used chia seeds in baking? You mix chia seeds and water and they coagulate into a texture that’s almost identical to gooey eggs. Ground flax seed/golden flax meal can also accomplish this. This means you can eat as much raw cookie dough without any risk of getting ill! Win for the cookie dough enthusiast! Big time fail for those skinny jeans hiding in the back of your closet.

Mmmm chia. You magical little seeds, you. So crunchy. So slimy. So…versatile. Full of omega 3’s, fiber, manganese, and phosphorus…can you say, “Cha-cha-cha-chia!!?”

Toast the almonds. This amps up the flavor profile by a million! Simply place in the oven on a baking sheet for 6-9 minutes or put almonds in a regular toaster oven until the nuts begin to turn a light brown color and release a toasted aroma. Stir frequently and watch them like a hawk, they will burn within a matter of seconds. Put down the chocolate chips and pay attention! When sufficiently toasted, set aside.

Create the “egg” by mixing together the 2 T of chia seeds or flax along with 6 T of water in a little bowl. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, cream together the coconut oil and brown sugar. If the coconut oil is too hard, pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds until it is softened into the creamy consistency of butter.

Add in the vanilla and non-dairy milk. Beat in the “egg”

Stir in the 3 cups of instant oats

In a different bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg

Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and oats and mix well until a dough forms

Add in the toasted almonds and chocolate chips

Form dough into small balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. I greased mine with coconut oil because I’m efficient like that.

Bake cookies for a mere 9-10 minutes. The trick with these cookies is to take them out of the oven just before they have fully cooked. Something about the coconut oil will harden them if you bake them too long. This preserves the softness we all love in a classic chocolate chip cookie.

I definitely went on a music downloading binge this past week, and congratulations, you have been selected to enjoy the fruits of my labor. It was nearly impossible to pick the song to post up, but here it is! As I was photographing the cookies outside in my beautiful garden, I felt so lucky to have the sun shining and the sky blue and the flowers around me in full bloom. Having lived in other places, I truly do love California. While some people on Facebook are whining about shoveling snow off their driveways, I was snapping pictures outside in the 80 degree weather. On that note, I am quite the sucker for cover songs. This is a fresh and extremely different take on 2Pac’s classic California Love by a band from Cleveland by the name of Somekindawonderful. Leave your window open while you bake and turn this up.